BJP workers, anti-farm law protestors clash in Ghazipur

Ghaziabad: BJP workers and anti-farm law protesters clashed in Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border on Wednesday, leading to injuries to some people from both sides.

The incident occurred when the BJP workers were carrying out a procession on a flyway where the protesters, chiefly supporters of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, have been camping since November 2020, according to eye-witnesses.

A scuffle broke between the members of the two sides on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway around noon and soon they were attacking each other with sticks which led to injuries to some people, they said.

While the farmers alleged that the episode was a conspiracy of the BJP and the RSS to quell the seven-month-old protest, the ruling party workers claimed that abuses and casteist slurs were hurled against them when they were taking out a welcome procession for the newly-appointed BJP general secretary Amit Valmiki that led to the clash.

Both sides approached the Ghaziabad police to file complaints. The district's police chief, Amit Pathak, said the matter would be probed before initiating legal action. Videos and pictures also surfaced on social media, purportedly showing some damaged vehicles which were part of a cavalcade of the BJP leader.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha spokesperson Jagtar Singh Bajwa claimed that the farmers at the Ghazipur border urged the district administration and government officials to remove the party workers as they were creating a ruckus in the name of a welcome rally.

"They misbehaved with farmers and themselves damaged their vehicles as part of a conspiracy. This conspiracy of the government is not going to succeed because such tactics to end the farmers' protest have been used in the past too," Bajwa said. "We are going to lodge a complaint with the police over today's (Wednesday's) incident, and if no action is taken, we shall plan our future strategy accordingly," he added.

"We condemn the ruckus created by the BJP workers," Bajwa said, adding that such tactics won't work as the farmers' movement has been going on peacefully for the last seven months and will continue to do so in the future.

BKU national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, who has been leading the protest at Ghazipur, alleged the BJP workers, who were raising their party's flags, scuffled with the farmers and used filthy language.

In a statement Wednesday evening, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) condemned the provocative behaviour of BJP-RSS workers to instigate protesting farmers at the Ghazipur border.

On the pretext of welcoming a BJP leader Amit Valmiki, several BJP-RSS workers and supporters came into the Ghazipur Border UP Gate protest site today, and went close to the morcha stage. They also raised slogans against the farmers' movement, it stated.

They raised slogans against protesting farmers calling them 'gaddar', 'anti-national', 'khalistanis' and 'terrorists'. The BJP goons also indulged in stone-pelting onto the morcha stage.

"There was absolutely no justification to welcoming the BJP leader at this location, and it was done only to instigate a clash with the protesting farmers, police in tow, in a time-testing BJP-RSS tactic, the SKM claimed.

The farmers collective also alleged inaction by the police personnel who were deployed at the spot.

The allegations of weapons being found, and vehicles being damaged are obviously, political diversionary tactics. A complaint has been lodged by the protesting farmers at the local police station, it added.